Today marks the 38th day of the federal government shutdown. It’s the longest shutdown in U.S. history. And its impact is widespread, affecting everything from federal benefits to national parks.
In North Carolina, about 1.4 million people rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps them afford food. Recipients still have not received their benefits for this month as the White House has given mixed messages on whether it will partially fund them.
Meanwhile, officials are sounding the alarm that air travel could soon be disrupted. And North Carolina’s 85,000 federal workers remain in limbo, with some on unpaid leave and others working without pay.
Republican U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards represents most of Western North Carolina in the House of Representatives. He spoke with BPR’s Felicia Sonmez from Washington on Wednesday, after big Democratic victories in several states.
Below are excerpts of the conversation, edited for length and clarity.
BPR: The one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene passed in September. Can you give our listeners a sense of what kinds of things you’re doing behind the scenes to continue to push the recovery along?
EDWARDS: Sure. First of all, other than just simply being boots-on-the-ground, for me and my team, and working with about 1,400 different pieces of casework — where folks had problems with FEMA — the next frontier, if you will, has been funding. As you’re probably aware, I was the author of the $110 billion disaster relief package that was part of the continuing resolution that we passed December 20th of last year.
And so now, the issue is being an intermediary between many of our local governments and federal agencies in order to get the funding out of the hands of the federal agencies — that I already appropriated — back into the hands of local governments and contractors that have invested in our recovery. And I’m really excited, for example, that we had another $155 million released from FEMA just yesterday.
BPR: Where do things currently stand with the negotiations over reopening the government, and as you’re in D.C. right now, are those talks actually happening?
EDWARDS: Those talks are certainly happening. And, unfortunately, I believe that what we see right now is the realism of the government shutdown starting to set in on those folks on the Democrat side that voted to shut the government down. You know, in the first couple of weeks there was no real obvious signs that anything was different.
But as time has gone on, we see more air traffic controllers not being paid, not coming to work. We see more TSA agents not being paid, not coming to work. We see more families suffering because SNAP benefits and WIC benefits — the Women, Infant and Children program that so many people count on — not being fully funded this cycle. And there is no additional funding for the next cycle.
BPR: The White House has given conflicting answers in recent days on whether it plans to partially revive those [SNAP] benefits with emergency funds. What would you like to see the Trump administration do on this issue?
EDWARDS: Well, I believe the decision has already been made that we’re going to use the $6 billion that is currently in reserve for emergency purposes to partially fund the benefits for November.
But keep this in mind: One month’s worth of benefits costs $9 billion. There’s only $6 billion in emergency funds. And so, we’re only going to be able to fund about two-thirds of what those folks would be expecting this month. And there is no more emergency funds for next month. And, unfortunately, we’ve got Thanksgiving towards the end of this month. And so many families are going to be challenged with putting a Thanksgiving dinner on the table while their SNAP benefits have run out for the month.
(Note: After this interview was conducted, a federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP for the month of November.)
BPR: There are some voters right now who have voiced frustration that Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the House after that last vote on the continuing resolution [in September]. Do you think that was the right move?
EDWARDS: I certainly believe that was the right move. Because job one, right now, in Washington, D.C. — here in Washington, D.C. — is to get our government opened. And the House voted to keep the government funded for an additional seven weeks. Our job is done. It’s now in the hands of the U.S. Senate. And so, it would be very difficult for us to continue our work while the government is shut down. Yes, most certainly, it was the right decision.
BPR: On the responsibility for the shutdown, Congressman, you had mentioned just now that Democrats — pointed the finger at Democrats not voting for the House Republican legislation.
But recent polling by NBC News and some other outlets shows that a majority of Americans actually blame Republicans and President Trump for the shutdown. And yesterday, Republican candidates lost in some big elections in New Jersey and Virginia. How do you interpret those developments, and does it raise concern for you at all over your reelection prospects next year?
EDWARDS: I’m concerned right now about getting the government reopened for the people in Western North Carolina. For America. I really don’t take my lead from any polls. Quite frankly, I don’t trust any polls. I’ve learned in my tenure in government service those can be steered in one direction or another.
I’m just speaking the fact. And I’m not pointing the finger. The fact is, Republicans have voted to keep the government open. The fact is, Democrats 14 times have voted to shut the government down. That’s not finger-pointing. That’s not polling. That’s cold, hard fact. And I realize there are a lot of Democrats out there that would like to ignore that fact.
BPR: When it comes to one of the sticking points in the negotiations, it seems like the Affordable Care Act subsidies are a big one. The latest reports have signaled that there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for the reopening of the government and then a vote at a later date on those subsidies. Is that something that you would support, and do you think other House and Senate Republicans might be on board with that?
EDWARDS: I certainly believe that we should have a discussion as to how to handle those subsidies and how to best make health care affordable for folks in America. The program that is set to expire at the end of this year at a minimum needs some major reforms.
For example, folks making $600,000 a year qualify for many of those subsidies. I don’t believe that the taxpayers should be bearing the cost of health care for someone making $600,000 a year or $400,000 a year. (Note: According to FactCheck.org, “Some higher-income earners could get subsidies, if they live in areas with costly insurance premiums, but about 95% of those getting subsidies in 2024 earned less than 400% of the poverty level.”)
One thing that we have recognized is about 40% of the folks that are eligible for those subsidies aren’t even seeing a doctor. And so that is a windfall for insurance companies. I think that’s one of the reasons we might see insurance companies out there lobbying so hard to keep these subsidies in place.
But yes, most certainly, we should be having the discussion, but not under the pretense of holding the government hostage for those discussions.
BPR: Congressman Chuck Edwards, thank you so much for your time today, and we look forward to speaking with you again in the future.
EDWARDS: All right. Thanks for your time.
Edwards also said he has asked to have his congressional salary waived during the shutdown. And he declined to commit to holding another in-person town hall meeting, noting that he has held recent town halls with constituents via telephone.
